Key takeaways:

• Jimmy Carter turns 99 on Sunday, Oct.1
• Birthday festivities moved to Saturday to avoid potential federal government shutdown
• How to wish the former president a happy birthday

Birthday celebrations for Jimmy Carter, Georgia’s most famous native son and the nation’s oldest-living president, will take place Saturday to avoid the threat of a looming partial federal government shutdown.

James Earl Carter Jr. turns 99 on Sunday, the day the federal government is set to shutdown if federal lawmakers don’t reach an agreement over the country’s budget. As of early Thursday afternoon, Congress still was at an impasse.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, which is hosting a public birthday bash, decided this week to move up the festivities for Carter, the 39th president (1977-1981) and the 76th governor of Georgia (1971-1975). Events originally set for Sunday will now be held Saturday on the Atlanta campus of the library, which is in The Carter Center.

Saturday’s festivities run from noon to 4 p.m. There will be games, crafts, trivia, birthday cake, food trucks and a film screening of “All The President’s Men.” Cost: 99 cents for the Carter museum for anyone over 16 years old. Those 16 and younger get in free. 

If there’s no shutdown, activities at the Carter library and museum will continue Sunday, including 99-cent admission.

The Carter Center has created a mosaic of images of Carter’s life and legacy. You can contribute a photo or message on the center’s website.

The Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains also has moved its birthday activities to Saturday.

“His birthday is a testament of servitude from Habitat for Humanity to serving the country to serving the state of Georgia. He never compromises his values,” said State Rep. Carl Gilliard, chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus. “ From the time he was governor and the time he was president and going back to his town. Even in his situation now ([Carter is in hospice care)] he is adding value to the city of Plains. People love and adore him.”

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones offered this birthday wish: “Happy Birthday President Carter! Thank you for your many years of service to the Plains community, our great state of Georgia and our nation. Your commitment to numerous philanthropies and civil service is truly commendable. Wishing you a wonderful 99th birthday!”

And Sen. Nan Orrock, an Atlanta Democrat who has served in the Legislature for four decades, said: “Jimmy Carter has made a difference in the lives of countless people here and around the globe! For fifty years his Coastal Marshland Protection Act has guarded our pristine coast. The eradication of the Guinea worm has been a game changer across the African continent. A global embrace of his human rights platform speaks for itself. Happy Birthday, Mr. President! We love you and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”

Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].

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Header photo: President Jimmy Carter and his daughter Amy walk through the Carter Presidential Museum. (Credit: Jimmy Carter Presidential Library)